Comment by barretts

7 years ago

It's not just amount of snow but terrain. A fair bit of snow on a flat surface might be fine, but even a little bit on a slope can quickly become problematic if you don't have 4x4.

15 comments

barretts

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seminatl  7 years ago

I wonder how this sounds to people who live in, say, Switzerland, where it is very mountainous, snows frequently, and literally nobody drives a truck, and even the cars are not AWD.

I mean, I _know_ how it sounds because I am one of those people. But I wonder how Americans think this sounds.

  • CivBase  7 years ago

    European countries are much more compact, which makes public transportation much easier to justify. By contrast, the US is extremely spread out and public transportation yields much less ROI even in many urban areas.

    Vehicle ownership in the US is practically a requirement because you have to drive to get anywhere. Therefor, having a versitile vehicle like a truck is more apealing.

    Trucks also tend to be more durable than cars so they're more common in the used market, especially in the midwest.

    ...but for many, a truck is just an aesthetic/lifestyle symbol. The "country" lifestyle is generally associated with independence and work ethic - traits which are highly valued in the US. Trucks are a classic symbol of that lifestyle. That's why country songs stereotypically mention trucks.

    • GordonS  7 years ago

      The OP wasn't arguing for public transport, so I don't get where your comments on that came from from. I totally get what you mean about "symbols" though.

      > Trucks also tend to be more durable than cars

      Surely the engine, drivetrain, clutch etc are the same parts you'd find in cars? Curious about what you mean here?

  • jdsully  7 years ago

    I drive a normal FWD car during winter weather almost nobody will go out in. I drove it cross-country through the worst snowstorm the midwest experienced in the last 10 years where I couldn't see more than 10ft in front of me.

    All that said, I would have been much safer in a truck.

  • GordonS  7 years ago

    I'm with you - as long as you don't have a RWD car, winter tyres on a FWD car make a huge difference, and they deal with ice and snow just fine.

  • brudgers  7 years ago

    Switzerland is about 41000 km^2 in area. The US has about 660,000 km^2 of fresh surface water.

    The scales of the US and Switzerland are incomensorable.